Auctions

The Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association conducts a small auction at every meeting. This provides a venue for our members to sell their trimmings. In addition, the auction is one of the key benefits of club membership for buyers, as a huge variety of plants are available, often at very attractive prices.

General/Bidder Rules:

All winning bids are final.

The auction is conducted on an honor system, where all bids are recorded during the auction. At the conclusion of the auction, buyers must pay cash in full for the items they have won.

Only cash is accepted as payment unless otherwise arranged with the Treasurer, prior to the auction.

Bids increase by $1 up until $10. From $10 – $20, bids increase by $2. After $20, bids increase by $5. At any time, a bidder may indicate a price higher than the next increment.

Items to be auctioned will be inspected only during breaks and before the auction. Please do not attempt to inspect auction inventory while bidding is in progress. It is permissible to come forward and inspect the item currently up for bid if there is any doubt as to the quality, health, or identification of an item on which you would like to bid.

Seller Rules:

Please bring only 1 bag of any given species. (This is to help prevent flooding the market with many bags of the same plant every month.)

You may bring as many bags as you wish, but we suggest that you use moderation if you notice certain species of plants do not sell very well.

Write your name on every bag you bring, so we know who to credit the sale to.

Label every item for auction, so the auctioneer can easily identify what is in the bag. It is helpful to list number of plants present, as well as, optionally, any special growing requirements for plants.

Please bring only healthy plants for auction. Please attempt to keep plants algae-free, or clearly indicate on the bag if otherwise.

Equipment may be auctioned, but please only full functional equipment.

Please do not bag plants in water. They survive just fine in a bag with few drops of water in the bottom for moisture.

Please double-bag fish to provide extra protection against leaks.

GWAPA takes 25% of every item sold, rounded down to the nearest whole dollar, to help cover meeting expenses.

If you wish to auction an item with the proceeds being donated in full to GWAPA, please write “GWAPA Donation” on the bag.

These rules are not intended to be all encompassing and may be changed prior to the start of the auction without notice.